How to Create an Uncommon Hunger for God

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Where in your life are you most "hangry" for God to intervene? What can you start doing to create a hunger for Him?

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matthew 5:6 (NASB)

I was about to lose it.

We were going around the circle giving updates about the spiritual condition of our hearts — something I usually love to do. As a deep-waters kind of girl, I’m always ready to dive right in to feelings. But it had gone on for hours, and there was bacon waiting for us. Bacon.

And as it was now approaching noon, and brunch was in smelling distance, my deep waters were drying up. I was becoming hangry.

The Urban Dictionary defines “hangry” as being so hungry that the lack of food causes anger or frustration. Spot on, isn’t it? Can you remember a time you were so hungry you yelled at someone you love, rolled your eyes at your spouse, used choice words on the driver who cut you off or thought mean things toward someone at work? Your need for sustenance can really turn your happy into hanger.

I think we can become hangry on a spiritual level, too. Our hearts will long for the kind of nourishment only God can provide, and we’ll struggle to navigate life’s ups and downs until our spiritual hunger is tamed. As we read in Matthew 5:6, Jesus reminds us God will not only bless us for feeling hangry for Him, but He will also satisfy that need to the fullest.

A wise friend once told me that hankering for a taste of the Holy Spirit was better than feasting on our favorite foods. (Honestly, it’s hard to imagine anything yummier than queso and chips from my favorite Texas food chain.)

But over and over and over, God reminds me He will satisfy and fill me up even more and even better than anything the world can offer.

And while foods like queso can tame our tummy, the only way to satisfy our soul is to feast on God’s Word.

You and I were created to hunger after God more than anything the world offers. It’s an uncommon choice — an ability God baked into the heart of every believer. But it’s an intentional decision we must choose daily.

It means when bad news comes, we get on our knees and pray. We take our pain and fear to Him first. We put God at the top of our to-do lists, not the bottom. It means we don’t treat Him like leftovers, something we reluctantly grab when nothing else satisfies.

Relying on anything other than God to feed our souls will keep us in an ordinary, common relationship with Him. Instead of embracing His power, strength and wisdom, we settle for the world’s morsels. Unless we choose to feast on God’s promises, we’ll spiritually starve ourselves.

Having an uncommon hunger for God is something we have to cultivate. It’s something we can ask Him to give us.

Let’s want God more than anyone or anything. And let’s live in such a way that others see the Father because of it. Yes, I am giving us all permission to be that crazy Jesus-girl.

Because when we do, we’re choosing to be an uncommon woman. And the world needs our lives to shine God’s hope, now more than ever.

Dear Lord, help me want You above anything else. It’s so easy to get “hangry” for the wrong things and look to the world to satisfy my needs or heal my heart. But in doing so, I’m forgetting that You are my provider. You are ready and willing and able to be my all. Help me choose You! I don’t want to live a common life; I want to thrive as an uncommon woman. Forget the world. I want You! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:Revelation 3:20, “Look! I have been standing at the door, and I am constantly knocking. If anyone hears me calling him and opens the door, I will come in and fellowship with him and he with me.” (TLB)

Psalm 107:9, “For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.” (NASB)

REFLECT AND RESPOND:What keeps you from filling up those empty places inside with God?

Where in your life are you most hangry for God to intervene? What can you start doing today to create a hunger for Him?

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